believe it was the esteemed John Allen who said that the Pope was simply trying to bring "balance" to the world of Catholic bishops. Which, admittedly, would be a compelling argument if, say, there were any conservative appointments to the progressive episcopates in Belgium, Holland or Hunland. Don't hold your breath waiting for that, though.

But that wasn't his main point, which was the remarkable similarity between that mindset -- and, yes, even language -- between the GPO leadership and the seamless garment Catholics:

Oh, come on now ... the Pope says plenty of fine sounding words on life. It’s just that when the rubber hits the road, he tosses you a bunch of Bernardins who undercut your efforts. In other words, if you want lip service, he’ll give it to you. But if you want action ... well, that would send the wrong message to the wider world. Have to meet people where they are, and all that. In fact, he’s a lot like the GOP in that respect.

Harsh? Probably. But in all honesty, what's the difference? If you can support post-birth abortion and still receive the body and blood of Christ with the full approval of your local shepherd on Sunday, then the GOP's hypocrisy on the issue, while sick-making, is placed in a little context.

Of course, that sends a huge signal that Catholic social teaching is equally disposable, but apparently, that's OK too.

1 comment:

A write-backer in the comboxes of Steve Sailer made a salient point about the American Religion the Bishops are too fearful to confront, say nothing about mounting real sacrificial opposition:

Begin quotes ++++++++++++++++

Commenter Wilkey points out:

… We keep hearing that Muslims must tolerate blasphemy because free speech. But Europe doesn’t have free speech. In most European countries, including France, there is a long list of blasphemous statements for which one can go to jail – from publicly denying facts, like the Holocaust, to denying opinions, like racial equality.

America has a lot of ways of enforcing blasphemy taboos as well, such as being forced out of your job (e.g., James D. Watson, Jason Richwine, Brandon Eich, etc.), public humiliations, leaking confidential conversations, and so forth.

The Left is an amorphous religion from which one cannot claim religious freedom, because the Religion of Political Correctness has never been formally declared. But it has its own dogma – racial and gender quality, etc. It has its own scriptures – poems like “The New Colossus,” and plays like The Crucible. It has its own hymns – “Imagine.” It has its own deities, including one – The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior – with his own holiday. “Public schools” are now effectively parochial schools owned and run by the Religion of Political Correctness.

A belief in magic is almost mandatory these days.

It must seem to Muslims very hypocritical to claim they must accept blasphemy while banning blasphemy against the Left.

end quotes +++++++++++

We are seeing entire states excommunicated from America's real religion owing to its defense of Christian liberty.

Of course, as was to be expected, the Governors of those excommunicated states are now doing public penance and begging to be restored to America's Religion